Spicy Squid Stir Fry (Ojingeo Bokkeum 오징어볶음)

Spicy Squid Stir Fry or Ojingeo Bokkeum (오징어볶음) is a dish that I have tried to make many times over the years but was never fully satisfied with the result. It’s not that difficult but I think it is because I was always comparing to a certain taste that was etched in my brain ever since college.

‘JJ’ was the name of the cafe restaurant. Now, already, there is a very good reason why I would like the place. 🙂 The cafe was in a small alley near the front area of Ewha Womans University. Many of my classmates visited the place often because the food was surprisingly good for the price and the owner ajeossi (아저씨) was the nicest man ever. We went there so often he gave us lots of freebies and also made sure we got a special bottle of bubbly peach champagne whenever someone was celebrating(?) their birthday. So we all made sure that all of our friends celebrated their birthdays at JJ’s.

The menu included a typical Koreanized western menu of those days which included Beef cutlet, Pork cutlet, Hamburger steak and Omelet rice. But there was another unusual menu item that was actually my favorite. Ojingeo Deopbap Jungsik (오징어덮밥 정식) is basically ojingeo bokkeum served on top of rice. And it was served with a side of cabbage salad (shredded cabbage served with thousand island dressing) and pickled sweet and sour radish (단무지).

I just loved loved this dish. It was really SPICY though and since I can’t eat very spicy foods, I ended up drinking a LOT of water with the food. And I remembered how my lips was on fire!!! But it was soooo good, I simple couldn’t stop and kept eating. Now, you know me.. I’m always different.. everyone else did not have a problem at all with the spice level. My friends always teased me that I was such a weakling when it came to spicy foods…HEY!!! It’s not because I am weak! It’s because I have a delicate palette!!! Hear that guys??!!! I’m sensitive and delicate! HAHAHA

Well, ever since I left Korea, I have been trying to recreate that spicy squid stir fry dish for all these years. Now, honestly, it’s been over 25 years so (oh, wow.. I feel old..) my memory is kind of fading but I am happy to report that I finally found a recipe that is similarly good and is simple to make. This recipe is based on Mr. Baek’s cooking show (백선생 집밥) but I have adjusted the seasoning to better suite my taste.

A little bit about SQUID

Tips about squid: You can use calamari instead of squid if squid is not easily available. You can probably buy fresh squid if you live in a coastal area but otherwise, they will probably come frozen. FYI, in case you were wondering, calamari and squid are actually different. Although some will say Calamari is more tender than squid and that calamari is better suited for stir frying, Koreans love to use squid because it is more meaty and has a more chewy texture. Frozen squids at Korean markets will usually have bodies that are about 8-10 in (20 – 25 cm) long. Anything bigger than 12 in (30 cm) may be too tough.

If you don’t want to bother with cleaning a whole squid or if whole squid is not available, you can use pre-cut squid or calamari but flavor will be better if you can purchase a whole squid. Note that calamari cooks faster than squid so you have to be even more speedy in your cooking!

Buying and Cleaning squid: The best kind of squid is the one with where the skin is completely intact. The fewer scars there are on the squid, the fresher the squid is going to be. I bought this one from our local Japanese market. Quite beautiful, I must say… I haven’t seen one this nice in a while. It’s OK if yours come already skinned but the skin holds a lot of the flavor so try to get one with skin on, if you can.

Whole squid in great condition

Nutrition of Squid: I found a great excerpt about nutrition of squid in Korea Foundation’s post on stir-fried squid rice. There’s also a recipe in the post that seems a bit unnecessarily complicated to me but anyway, here’s the quote: “In addition, as compared to other fish and shellfish, squid contains two to three times more taurine, which helps to reduce cholesterol, and 25-60 times more than any kind of meat (327-854 milligrams per 100 grams). When squid is dried, the taurine appears on the surface as a white residue. Squid is low in fat but rich in fatty acids, such as EPA and DHA. It also contains a high content of selenium, which is indispensable for normal cellular function, and also helps to extract toxic elements and prevent the intake of cancerous agents.”

Well, it’s another good reason to keep the skin on!

Cut the body with scissors all the way to the end to split it open.

cutting squid open with scissors

Removing squid innards and bone – There should be a clear, flexible back bone that goes through the body. Remove the bone and also the innards attached to the body.

Separate the legs from the head which has the eyes and a mouth with a beak like black piece.

How to cut squid into pieces – btw this is a bigger squid which came already skinned and gutted.

To make things go smoothly, prepare seasoning and ingredients before hand (mis en place!) and have them next to your stove before you start the stir fry. If you don’t want to bother, you can mix them all at once except the sugar but I think this is one time where it tastes better when it is added separately.

Add 1 Tbs + 1 to 2 tsp of sugar. Add more ore less sugar depending on whether you like things sweeter or not. Stir and cook until sugar is all dissolved. (20 seconds or less). We are not trying to fully cook the squid but just get it to absorb the sugar first. Because once the squid is salted, it shrinks up and sugar will mostly end up on the outside. This is a trick I learned from a cooking show by Mr. Baek in Korea and it really does increase the sweetness of the squid with the same amount of sugar.

Add water and stir fry for 1 more minute and it should like like this:

Korean spicy squid stir fry in pan (ojingeo bokkeum)

Add all the vegetables and cook for 7-8 more minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked. The amount of cabbage may seem a bit too much but it will reduce in volume quite significantly.

Korean spicy squid stir fry with cabbages

When it is fully cooked – (the color is lighter here due to lighting)

Spicy squid stir fry or Ojingeo Bokkeum cooking in pan

Turn off heat. Finish with a dash of sesame oil and some more fresh green onions as garnish. Optionally, sprinkle sesame seeds.

Serving suggestion:

Serve on top of rice and you have Ojingeo Deopbap!! I served mine on multi-grain rice to make it more healthy. Serve with some side of cabbage salad with mayonnaise+ketchup dressing, sweet and sour pickles like daikon radish to help with the heat. Egg soup or oden soup will also be a great combination. Enjoy!

spicy squid stir fry with rice and side of cabbage salad

Closeup of Ojingeo Deopbap (Stir-fried squid on rice)

My 2 cents – Too much vegetables will water down the taste of the squid and also take longer to cook which means squid can be overcooked.

Add all the vegetables and cook for 7-8 more minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked.

Turn off heat. Finish with a dash of sesame oil and some more fresh green onions as garnish. Optionally, sprinkle sesame seeds.

Recipe Notes

Serve on top of rice with some side of cabbage salad with mayonnaise+ketchup dressing, sweet and sour pickles like daikon radish to help with the heat. Egg soup or oden soup will also be a great combination.

Comments

Hello JinJoo, I just found your blog while searching for an Ojingeo Bokkeum recipe and I wanted to let you know that I appreciate all the time and effort you put into this. I’m half Korean and grew in CA (I now live in NC) my mother passed away 19 years ago and I’ve forgotten how to make so many of her recipes. The Ojingeo Bokkeum recipe on your site is the closest to hers that I’ve come across. Thank you! Diana

Hello Diana! Oh.. How wonderful!! I am so so happy to hear that. It just warms my heart so much to hear that my recipes remind you of your mother’s cooking. Thank you so much for dropping me a note to let me know. I do try hard to make my recipes with the same love that any mother would – I just measure things.. haha..Because one day, I hope my daughter will use these same recipes to cook when I leave this place. As she is an only child and would have no older sister to teach her or anything like that. Anyway, you are so welcome! Take care, JinJoo

Hi JinJoo, just want to say, your pictures are always beautiful. I am impressed with the quality of your photographs, and I love your writing style. I don’t eat meat so I won’t make this recipe, but I like several of your others. Thank you!

Hi Michelle, thank you SO much!! I am so encouraged to hear your words. 🙂 I hope there is enough non-meat dishes for you to enjoy. Many dishes can be cooked without meat. For example, I made Dakdoritang for my vegetarian friends by just omitting chicken and adding in more sweet potatoes. Even the Squid Stir-fry, I think will taste good even if you omit squid and use tofu or other veggies. Thank you again!

This looks wonderful — next time I come up with some squid, I’m going to try it. Like you, i prefer to buy it with the skin on, but that’s less and less likely around here these days. (I also like it with the ink sacs, used in some European recipes, too — but that’s near impossible.)

I absolutely loved your step by step explanation of the whole recipe. Great job! Even though I can’t eat a lot of seafood( some stomach issues with seafood) my daughter really likes this. I’ll def tell her to try this. Thank you for sharing this😊

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NUTRITIONAL FACTS, MSG & GLUTEN FREE

–Nutritional Facts in my recipe cards are provided as an estimate and may not be accurate. Due to different brands of ingredients having different nutritional values, the values I provide here may be different from your preparation. – MSG & Corn Syrup FREE – these are never used in my recipes – Gluten Free recipe assumes you are using gluten free soy sauce (since many soy sauces contain gluten or wheat).